This invention relates to optical devices for monitoring the physical and chemical state of the atmosphere, and more particularly to improvements therein.
Optical scattering techniques provide a particularly attractive method for monitoring the physcial and chemical state of the atmosphere. Such methods have a natural simplicity and lead to reliable and economical hardware configurations. Rayleigh lidar techniques, for example, provide an excellent means for detecting cloud and smog layers, locating temperature inversions and aerosol layers, and determining cloud structure through rain and fog cover. Raman lidar instruments, on the other hand, offer a tool for selectively detecting and measuring atmospheric pollutants, such as carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide, and oxides of nitrogen. Finally, Rayleigh light-scattering particle counters provide a convenient technique for detecting and sizing individual aerosol particles.